Will wonders never cease ! DK actually stating an opinion here, my, my my

Just a few thoughts from an American perspective on this issue DK, Ok ?

Many American people have come to feel as if the justification we were given for this debacles implementation was at best ill advised, and at worst (and what many here now feel) an outright misrepresentation of facts in the 1st place.

Though I would guess a commonly held world view of America and Americans is one of a culture of warrior-like personalities, I think that's a bit of a misrepresentation of what we as a nation of peoples truly are.

The people here commonly view the actions our government takes in many global situations with the same trepidation many in the rest of the world do, and feel very much like the rest of the world in being powerless to stop or change it, so it's a big boat we all seem to be riding in here on this issue as surely on many others too.

The majority of Americans want us out of Iraq and I place myself within that majority. I also see no point in some elongated presence in Iraq for the purposes of "nation building" as this seems totally in opposition to the principles we as a nation were founded upon which is freedom for ourselves and everyone else to choose as they will.

Secondly, any continued presence there only seems to further exacerbate the problems present and I can see no point for the Iraqi, nor ourselves in doing so. The Iraqi people have always had internal problems and will continue (like many other middle eastern countries) to have them whether we are there or not, so my question is, what point is there in being there at all?

In the truest sense of Americanism (not an ideal represented by our governments actions) we support all peoples rights to choose their own government and govern themselves as they choose to. The whole concept of "nation building" is totally in direct opposition to the tenets upon which our nation was founded and in "My" view, borders on madness as a feasible possibility.

While I don't welcome your wishes for our economic downfall I do however understand how many people in the world feel as if we as a nation should be punished for the actions of our government. The war in Iraq has already consumed hundreds of billions of dollars and even if we were to withdraw our troops and support structures TODAY, would cost more billions still in doing so. To my way of thinking the expenses in terms of human lives of American soldiers at risk there is worth every cent of the costs to withdraw, and I hope it's done as quickly as is possible.

Though it can be said that we as the American public are responsible for the actions of our government, since we as a people elected the members of it, let me be clear here in stating that the American people as a whole have not realistically been represented by a government or a legislature we have elected in quite some time.

We strive to make the best choices available in electing representatives to go in our stead to the capital and take care of the business of running our country, but once in office these elected officials nearly always seem to discount or totally disregard the concerns of their constituants .... and so the violation begins, or continues, depending on your perspective.

It is my hope we elect a new president to move us out of the oppressive posture we have assumed globally and return us to a more sane way of being as a country. Though the candidate I personally choose to support is Ron Paul because he defers to a return to the form of government our Constitution outlines and returning the governing of our people back to the people themselves, his platform seems so reasonable I fear he'll never get elected and even if he did, would likley be assasinated while in office.

Our country has gone far astray of what it should be and truly what it should be doing in the world today, but it is my hope it's not too late to make a positive change in the future.